Girl's Poker Night
by Frisco
Summary: Girl talk around the poker table. Written for the Scars Challenge on the sga flashfic community. A total bit of fluff.


The door chimed just as Elizabeth placed the fourth and final chair at the table. She palmed the door open and waved Teyla Emmagan, Laura Cadman, and Millie Hewston in. "Did you bring everything?"

Teyla smiled. "Indeed we did. Laura brought the cards, Millie the wine, and I have brought popcorn."

"Oh, I forgot glasses though. Do you have any Dr. Weir?"

"Yes I do, Millie. And please call me Elizabeth."

Girl's poker night was the highlight of each month. The four cleared one night for girl talk, junk food, and fun. It took a lot of work to make their schedules coincide, but a break from the testosterone-heavy environment they all worked in was a must.

Popcorn popped, wine poured and cards dealt, the game began. Millie never won many hands since she was competing against two master negotiators and a tough-as-nails Marine, but she was observant. One had to be to work for Rodney McKay. She was beginning to pick up on their tells.

Weir was winning as usual. She was up two Snickers bars, three tubes of lipstick and one small bottle of Obsession. As Cadman shuffled and began dealing the next hand, Millie noticed a scar running from the base of her right thumb diagonally to her elbow. "Laura, can I ask you a personal question?"

"As long as it stays in this room."

"Where'd you get that scar on your arm?"

Cadman paused and glanced down before continuing to deal. Her fair skin didn't help the blush that creeped up her neck to her face.

"If you don't want to talk about it-"

"No. It's not that. It's just embarrassing. I'd like to say I got it from disarming a bomb, but it's not. When I was in high school chemistry, my lab partner was the cutest guy in class. During an experiment one day, I was paying more attention to him than the chemicals, and I got the measurements confused. I dropped the beaker just before it exploded, but I still got caught by flying glass. It wasn't exactly the way I wanted him to notice me, but I guess it worked because we dated for three months." She finished dealing. "Teyla, your bid."

Laughter echoed in the room as they each studied their cards.

"One bag of peanut M&Ms."

"Elizabeth?"

"I call your M&Ms and raise you a Toblerone."

"Millie?"

"Call."

"And I call. Teyla?"

"I will call as well."

The game continued with Teyla taking the pot this time. She smiled happily at her growing pile of chocolate. "Millie, I have noticed a scar on your shoulder during our sparring sessions. Would you be willing to share your story?"

Millie choked a bit on the wine she was drinking before looking sheepishly at Teyla. "It really stays here, right?"

At the three heads nodding at her, she took a deep breath. "OK, when I was a little girl, my brother and I had a treehouse. I loved it so much that I would have lived in it if my mom would have let me. I also happen to be deathly afraid of spiders. While I was playing in the treehouse one day, a spider landed on me. I went crazy trying to get it off me, running around screaming. My shirt got caught on a nail in the process. I ripped my shirt and sliced my shoulder on it, but I got it off. Of course, that just resulted in a round of tetanus shots to be sure I wouldn't die from a rusty nail." She sighed. "If any of my co-workers find out about my arachnophobia…."

Cadman shuddered. "They won't here it from me. I hate spiders."

At the chorus of "Me too" Hewston relaxed a bit. "Whose turn to deal?"

"I believe it's Teyla's turn. And Teyla, I have noticed that scar on your wrist. Time to confess." Weir grinned at her.

Teyla's face took on a dreamy quality as she shuffled. "Jonar was a young man from my village. He was strong and brave and quite in love with me." She began dealing the cards. "He wanted to marry me, but my father said we were still too young. I was so impressed that he would have the courage to speak to my father since we were only ten. So we decided to hold our own ceremony of betrothal. The wrists are to be sliced and then bound together to signify the mixing of lives." Teyla giggled at the memory. "His father caught us before we could get the bindings tied. Our parents were quite upset, but I thought it was very romantic."

Millie smiled. "That's a much better story than mine. Can I ask what happened to him?"

Teyla laughed. "Oh, he decided the next week that he wanted to marry Rosha. And Meirdan the week after that. He eventually married Nolis. They have four children." Teyla shook her head at the recollection. "Elizabeth, it is your bet, and time to tell your story. I know of the scar you have on your palm."

Weir placed her bet and looked down at her left hand. She rubbed the scar with her thumb and smiled at the memory. "When I was in college, I had an accident while pledging my sorority. We had to break into the guys' dorm and take certain items: gym shoes, a belt buckle, a jock strap, aftershave, etc. I was winning by a mile when the guy I was 'borrowing' from woke up. He wanted his belt back. Turns out his belt buckle was also a knife holder. When he yanked it out of my hand, the knife popped out and sliced my hand. I was bleeding all over his room, and he felt so guilty he gave me the belt buckle and bandaged my hand. Not only did I win, he was my date to the sorority social. What's a little scar in comparison?" She grinned at them.

"Now, whose turn is it to deal?"

The End.


End file.
